Delhi has been the capital of many dynasties over the period of time. From the Pandavas of the Hindu epic Mahabharata to the Narendra Modi-led BJP of the present day political scenario, the current capital of India has seen many rulers come and go. Many of these rulers got new forts, palaces, and establishments constructed. Today, these historical places in Delhi form the highlight of the sightseeing tours of the capital, popularly known as Delhi Darshan.

With a history that spans over a millennium, it is only normal to have a long list of historical places. But to try and summarize, we bring to you a comprehensive list of famous places in Delhi that speak volumes about the history of the Indian capital.

Famous Places in Delhi for the History Lovers

As mentioned before, the Sultanate of Delhi has seen many rulers. Many of them established their own cities. The medieval history period itself saw the rise and fall of seven cities within Delhi, viz. Qila Rai Pithora, Mehrauli, Siri, Tughlaqabad, Firozabad, Shergarh, and Shahjahanabad. These 7 cities form a major chunk of the historical places in Delhi.

1. Ladho Sarai (Rai Pithora)

Due to the availability of recorded historical facts, Rai Pithora is known as the first city of Delhi. The once fortified city was built by Prithviraj Chauhan after defeating the Tomar Rajputs in the 12th century. Prior to this, the Tomars ruled over an establishment known as Lal Kot that was built by the Tomar ruler Anangpal I in the 8th century. Though these historical places in Delhi are no more in existence, ruins of the same can be seen in the Mehrauli district. The 12th-century Rai Pithora is today popularly known as Ladho Sarai.

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2. Mehrauli

After defeating Prithviraj Chauhan in 1191, Mohammad Ghori left his slave Qutubuddin Aibak as his viceroy. Aibak captured Delhi, which was still in the hands of the Chauhans, in 1193. After the death of Ghori in 1206, Aibak took the throne of Delhi for himself and established the first Mughal rule over Delhi. This gave to the rise of the Slave Dynasty. Qutubuddin Aibak began building Islamic structures that were later incorporated in his city – Mehrauli. This was the second city of Delhi.

The city of Mehrauli includes a plethora of historical places in Delhi, the chief being the Mehrauli Archaeological Park and the Qutab Archaeological Area.

3. Hauz Khas (Siri)

One of the most happening & affluent neighborhoods of the 21st century Delhi, Hauz Khas derives its name from the Royal Water Tank built during the reign of Allauddin Khilji. The present day Hauz Khas district was then called Siri, which was one of the seven cities of Delhi. A highlight of the New Delhi tourism circuit, the area holds importance for both the history buffs and the part lovers. And with the presence of myriad monuments in the district, Hauz Khas qualifies as one of the important historical places in Delhi.

4. Tughlaqabad

It was in 1320 that Ghiasuddin Tughlaq won the Sultanate of Delhi from Nasiruddin Mohammed and founded the city of Tughlaqabad. He got the Tughlaqabad Fort constructed in the city, remains of which can still be seen in this area. As the third city among the former seven cities of the Delhi Sultanate, Tughlaqabad too ranks high in the list of the important historical places in Delhi.

5. Jahanpanah

After the untimely death of Ghiasuddin Tughlaq in 1325, his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascended the throne. After a reign of 7 years with Tughlaqabad as his capital, he shifted the capital of the empire to Daulatabad, Devgiri, in Aurangabad District of Deccan. But the scarcity of water led him to shift back to Delhi in 1334. It was then that he founded another city – Jahanpanah or the World’s Asylum – very close to his former capital of Tughlaqabad. Though it was never considered among the 7 cities of the capital, it is considered as one of the important places in Delhi for the history lovers.

6. Kotla (Firozabad)

After a disastrous reign by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, his son Firoz Shah set out to bring some stability to the empire. In due course, he established another city in Delhi – Firozabad or Firoz Shah Kotla. The city was a large enclosure of high walls and contained palaces, pillared halls, mosques, a pigeon tower, & a water tank. Firoz got an Ashokan pillar from 1500 years ago erected on the top of his palace.

The Sayyid and Lodhi dynasties that followed worked to restore the stability. The most famous gardens and tombs of this era, which you might be able to see on a Delhi Darshan in the area surrounding the present-day Lodhi Gardens, also fall in the Firozabad city of medieval India.

7. Shergarh

The present day Purana Qila (Old Fort) was the creation of Sher Shah Suri in his capital city of Shergarh. However, when Humayun defeated him in 1555 to win the capital back, the fort and the city were incomplete. Humayun did the needful and led to the existence of one of the most popular historical places in Delhi.

Though the Humayun’s Tomb complex was built later by Emperor Akbar, its location next to the Old Fort has often led to a debate among the historians about whether or not it is to be included in the city of Shergarh. But in case you are going to Old Fort, you better not miss the monuments of the Humayun’s Tomb complex.

8. Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)

Shah Jahan, the man that gave Taj Mahal to the world, is also credited for the construction of the city of Shahjahanabad – the present-day Old Delhi. The city remained the capital of the Mughal Sultanate from 1639 till the end of the Mughal Dynasty. The walled city was known for its royal architecture, intricate lanes, elegant mosques & gardens, dazzling bazaars, and surrounding walls.

16. Babarpur

Other Historical Monuments to be covered on Delhi Darshan

17 Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar is among the monuments that form the backbone of New Delhi tourism. Located in the present-day city of New Delhi, it is one of the 5 observatories built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in 1724. The observatory consists of 13 instruments and 3 major individual structures. The 3 individual structures are:

Samrat Yantra: The Samrat Yantra, or Supreme Instrument, is a giant right triangle that is basically an equal hour sundial. Its 128-foot-long (39 m) hypotenuse, which is parallel to the Earth’s axis, points toward the North Pole. On its either side is a quadrant with indicators for hours, minutes, and seconds. It also helped in measuring declination and other related coordinates of the various heavenly bodies.

Jayaprakash Yantra: The Jayaprakash has hollowed out hemispheres with markings on their concave surfaces. Crosswires were stretched between points on their rim. It was used to study the position of the stars.

Misra Yantra: The Misra Yantra, the only structure in the observatory that is not invented by Jai Singh II, was a tool to determine the shortest & longest days of the year and to indicate the exact moment of noon in various cities all over the world.

18. Agrasen Ki Baoli

Agrasen ki Baoli is located on the Hailey Road near Connaught Place in the present-day city of New Delhi. One of the ASI-protected historical places in Delhi, it consists of 3 levels and 103 steps. Though there are no historical records to prove it, but the building is believed to have been built by the legendary Maharaja Agrasen and rebuilt by the Agarwal community during the reign of the Tughlaq dynasty. Rumors have it that the Baoli is also one of the haunted places in Delhi.

19. Chhota Qutub Minar at Hastsal Village, Uttam Nagar

Debate still exists, for those who have even heard of this monument, about the date of construction of this monument. While the red sandstone used in the minar suggests it to be from the Mughal Period, many locals claim it to be from the time of Prithviraj Chauhan. It is also believed that the structure was used as a hunting lodge by Shahjahan during the 1650s. What now stands as a 17-meter tall tower with 12 faces, has a broken top portion. Due to its remote location at the Hastsal Village in Uttam Nagar, it has been ignored from the face of New Delhi tourism.

20. India Gate

One of the more recent attractions of the New Delhi tourism, the India Gate on Rajpath is a war memorial to the 82,000 soldiers of the undivided Indian Army who died in the period 1914 – 1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli, and elsewhere in the Near & the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It is a part of the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) that came into existence in December 1917 for building war memorials.

Its foundation stone was laid by the visiting Duke of Connaught on 10th February 1921 and it was inaugurated on 12th February 1931 by Lord Irwin. After the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, another structure was added to it – the Amar Jawan Jyoti.

Despite our best efforts, the list mentioned above doesn’t cover all the historical monuments of the capital. But it certainly presents ample fodder for those who seek a walk through the historical places in Delhi.

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